Chandigarh: The Punjab government on Friday said the new industrial policy will address a host of issues like land availability and faster clearance of new industrial projects to turn the state into an investment hotspot.

"We are in the process of drafting new industrial policy in consultation with captains of industry so as to rejuvenate small scale industry and attract new investments in the state," Industry and Commerce Minister Anil Joshi said in Chandigarh.

"The new policy is likely to be rolled out in first quarter of next year," he added. SAD-BJP government in Punjab is coming up with new industrial policy after its earlier industrial policy-2009could not bring desired results.

Among major focus areas of the new industrial policy, the Punjab government will try to make land available to industry at reasonable rates by creating enough land bank across the state.

"We have already carried out a survey of land availability in the state to create land bank so as to boost industrial activity," he said.

Higher land prices had turned out to be a major stumbling block in attracting fresh investment in Punjab with companies showing reluctance in putting money in the state and this fact was even corroborated by a UNIDO report.

Apart from setting up new focal points, efforts will be made to ensure that land allotted to industry should not be used for real estate purposes as had been witnessed in the past.

"We have seen that some of industrialists after getting industrial land did not set up projects and then sold it to others to make money on plots," he said, adding that checks, including timeframe for setting up projects, would be introduced in the new industrial plot allotment policy.

Another focus area of the policy will be to give faster clearance to new industrial projects so that it should not be held up for want of approvals. "We have sought from Punjab government to simplify procedure for giving approvals to industrial projects," Industrial Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister and Nahar Group, Director, Kamal Oswal said.